Electric switch.



No. 702,364. Patented lune I0, |902.

.|. J. FLINT.

ELECTRIC SWITCH.

v (Application led July 29, 1901.)

(N0 Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l` W' /mL sflmu Fica.

IN VEN T OP .Tus amas Pneus cola Puomvmno., whswrncmu u c No. 702,364. Patented June ID, |902.

' J. J. FLINT.

ELECTRIC SWITCH.

- l, (Application led J'uly 29, 1901.) (un Model.) 2 sheetssheel 2.

vUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES J. FLINT, OF DENVER, COLORADO, ASSIGNOR TO THE FLINT-LOMAX ELECTRIC AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

ELECTRIC SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 702.364, dated June 10, 1902. Application filed July29, 1901. Serial No. 70,022. A(No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern; tering with corresponding Openings in the Be itknown thatI, JAMES J. FLINT,`a citizen face-plate 7, the latter being attached to the of the United States of America, residing at` plate 6. Attached to the base on the inside Denver, in the county of Arapahoe'and State `by `means of screws Sis a metal frame 9,which, 5 5 of Colorado, have invented certain new and as shown in the drawings, is formed from an useful Improvements in Electric Switches; `integral piece of metal and comprises a part and I do declare the following to be a full, 9a and separated inwardly-projecting parts 9, clear, and exact description of the invention, `parallel with each other, and two parts 9, such as will enable others skilled in the art. bent toward each ot-herand thence outwardly. 6o 1o to which it appertains to make and use'the These extremities are connected by a rivet same, reference being had to the accompany- 10, which forms the fulcrum or pivot of a ing drawings, and to the letters and `iigures of rocking plate 12, which projects equally on reference marked thereon, which form a part opposite sides of the pivot. The extremities of this specification. 9d"of the frame are further connected by a 65 My invention relates to improvements in bridge-piece91,secured thereto and connected electric switches; and it consists of the feawith the porcelain cover4 by a screw 3. The tures, arrangements, and combinations hereextremities 12g of the plate 12 are respectively inai' ter described and claimed, all of which connected with the push-buttons 13 by rods will be fullyunderstoodby reference to the acor links 14. The plate l2 has an outwardly- 7o zo companying drawings, in which is illustrated projecting arm 12, whose extremity remote an embodiment thereof. from the plate is provided with a cross-piece In the drawings, Figure l is a vertical lon- 12C. To 4each extremity of this cross-piece is gitudinal section taken through my improved attached a coil-spring 15. switch on the lineas, Fig. 2. Fig. 2is a rear Fulcrumed or pivotally mounted on the 75 view of the switch, the porcelain cover being frame9 at a point C between the plate 12 removed to disclose the mechanism within. and the base 5 is a rocking-bar 16, provided Fig. 3 is a cross-section taken on the line with two centrally-located andinwardly-pro- Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is 'a section taken on the line jecting parallelarms 16,whose`inner extremify y, Fig. 1. Figs. 5 and 6 are sections taken ties 16c are bent toward each other. The ex- 8o 3o through one extremityofthe rockingbardllustremities of the coil-springs 15 remote from trating the means for completing the circuit the cross-piece 12c are connected with these through the bar extremities,V while the body arm extremities 16C. These springs are norof the bar is insulated from the current. In mally under sufficient tension to hold the Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, the double-poleconparts firmly in either position of adjustment. 85 struction is illustrated. Fig. 7 is a vertical Each extremity of the plate 12 is provided longitudinal section taken through the thieewith alateral projection 12d, which engages way form of switch. This view is similar to `the adjacent arm 16n of the bar 16, and thus Fig. 1; but the brushes are differently ar` aids in the tilting or shifting of the bar 16. ranged. Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view illus- Suitably mounted on each extremity of the 9o 4o trating the circuit of the double-pole form of base 5 is a pair of brushes 12, preferably comswitch. Fig. 9 is a similar View illustrating posed of copper and connected with the holthe use of the three-wayform of switch. Fig. low binding-posts 18, to which the circuit- 10 is a View illustrating the wiring connecwires are attached. The extremities of the tions of the single-pole double-break form of rocking-bar 16 are provided with contacts in- 95 my improved switch-mechanism. sulated from the body ofthe ba`r,whereby the The same reference characters indicate the circuit is com pletedthrough the brushes when same parts in' all the views. the contact extremities of the rocking-bar en- Let the numeral 5 designate a base, prefgage the brushes. erably composed of porcelain. To the front Two different contact constructions are roo 5o side of this base is attached a narrow metal shown in Figs. 5 and 6 and designated A and plate 6, having push-button openings regis- B, respectively. As shown in the drawings,

the bar 16 is composed of two plates which are separated in the middle, allowing certain of the operating parts to pass through the opening. The extremities of these arms are brought together or in suitable proximity and bored to allow the contact-studs A or B to pass therethrough, the stud being surrounded by insulating material, which is designated A2 and B2 in Figs. 5 and 6. In Fig. 5 contactplates A3 are shown applied to the extremities of the stud A', while in Fig. 6 the extremities of the stud are enlarged or upset to give the required contact-surt`ace- In the double-pole form of switch the two pairs of brushes are so arranged (see Fig. 1) that both contact extremities of the bar engage the two pairs of brushes at the same time. is made and broken at both pairs of brushes simultaneously by the bar 16. Vhen the parts are in the open-circuit position,as shown in Fig. 1, and it is desired to close the circuit, it is only necessary to push inwardly on the protruding button 13. This action imparts a corresponding movement to the extremity of the plate 12, with which the corresponding link or rod llt is connected, with the result that an opposite movement will be imparted to the other extremity of the said plate, thus throwing the arm 12'L toward the left, its extremity connected with the springs 15, moving in the arc of a circle whose center is the fulcrum-point of the plate 12. At the same time the projections 12d act on the arms 16 and move the arms toward the left, the extremities of said arms connected with the springs moving in the arc of a circle whose centeris the fulcrum-point C. In other words, the points to which the springs are attached are moved farther apart and the tension of the springs is increased. Hence as soon as the extremity of the arm 12a passes beyond or to the left of a straight line connecting the points`16C and C the power of the spring acting on the arms 16a pulls the said arms toward the left to their limit of movement, thus shifting the bar 16 and throwing its extremities into engagement with the two pairs of brushes 17.

In Fig. 7 the same construction is shown as in Fig. 1, but the brushes are differently arranged-that is to say, so that the one extremity of the bar 16 is in contact with a pair of brushes when the other extremity is disengaged from its corresponding pair of brushes. Hence with thisarrangement of brushes the circuit is always closed through one pair of brushes no matter which of the two positions the operating parts occupy. This form of the switch, which I have termed the threeway form, is diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 9, being employed where it is desired to control the current at two different points. In this View D designates the electric source, E FY two of the switches, and F the electric lamp to be controlled. A wire G leads from one pole of the source directly to the lamp. Another wire H leads from the other pole of the source to the binding-post 18 of the switch Hence the circuit form of switch is illustrated in Fig. 10.

E, which post is connected with a post 19 by a wire 20. The two adjacent posts 18 of each switch E F. are connected by wires 21 and 22, while from one of the binding-posts of the switch E a wire 23 leads to the lamp F. In this case it is evident that the circuit may be completed through H, one pair of brushes of switch E', the wire 22, one pair of brushes of the switch E, and the wire 23, or through a binding-post 18 of switch E', the wire 20 of switch E, the other pair of brushes of switch E', wire 21, the other pair of brushes ofswitch E, the wire 2O of switch E, a binding-post 18 ot' switch E, and the wire 23.

The wiring of the double-pole form of construction, or that shown in Fig. 1, is illustrated in Fig. 8, in which D is the source of current, 2li, 25, 26, and 27 the circuit-wires, and F the lamp.

The circuit of the single-pole double-break In this form the brushes are arranged as in Fig. 1, so that the circuit is simultaneously broken at both pairs ot brushes. However, two of the posts, which I will designate as 19, are simply contacts performing the function of binding-posts so far as the brushes 17 are concerned, but which are not directly connected with exterior circuit-wires. These two contacts are connected by a wire 20, which performs the same function as the wires 2O of the switches E E in Fig. 9. In Fig. 10 D is a source of current, F the lamp, and 28, 29, and 30 lthe circuit-wires.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. In an electric switch, the combination with a switch-base,'push-buttons, and aframe attached to the base, of a rocking plate pivoted on the frame at its inner extremity and projecting laterally `on opposite sides of said pivot, the plate having an outwardly-projecting arm, a rocking bar pivoted on the frame between the rocking plate and the push-buttons, and provided with a central opening into which the outwardly-projecting arm of the rocking plate passes, the rocking bar havin g inwardly-proj ecting arms arranged on opposite sides of the arm of the rocking plate, the outer extremity of the rocking-plate arm having a cross-piece, coil-springs connecting the respective extremities of the cross-piece with the inner extremities of the rocking-bar arms, and rods or links passing through the central opening of the rocking bar, and conv necting the extremities of the rocking plate on opposite sides of the pivot, with the pushbuttons.

2. In an electric switch, the combination with a switch-base and push-buttons, of a frame attached to the base and having two separated inwardly-projecting parts whose inner extremities are bent toward each other, a rocking plate mounted between the inner extremities of the frame parts, a rivet connecting the said frame-part extremities and forming the fnlcrum of the rocking plate IOO IIC

which is provided with an arm,'a rocking bar pivoted on the frame and provided with an arm, the plate and the bar being separated and having their arms projecting in opposite directions, a spring connecting the arms ot' the two parts and arranged to hold them firmly in either position of adjustment, and two links or rods attached to the push-buttons and connecting the rocking plate on opposite sides of its fulcrum.

In an electricv switch, the combination with a base, aframe and push-buttons, of a rocking plate flilcrumed on the inner 4extremity of the frame, having laterally-projecting arms and an outwardly-projecting arm, a rocking bar pivoted. on the frame and centrally bifurcated, the said bar being located between the rocking plate and the pushbuttons, its opposite extremities being provided with contacts insulated from the body of the arm, the arrangement being such that the inwardly-projecting arm of the rocking plate passes into the central opening of the rocking bar which is provided with two inwardly-projecting arms, one extending from each part of its bifurcated portion,coil-springs connecting the inner extremities of the rocking-bar arms, withl the outer extremity of the rocking-plate arm, and rods or links connecting the rocking plate on opposite sides of its pivot with the respective push-buttons.

4.. In an electric switch, the combination with a base, a frame and push-buttons, of a rocking plate pivoted on the frame at its inner extremity, projecting equally on opposite sides from said pivot, the parts on the opposite sides of the pivot, having lateral projections, the rocking'plate having also an outwardly-projecting arm, a rocking bar fulcrumed on the frame between the rocking plate and the push-buttons, said bar being centrally bifurcated, its extremities having contacts insulated from the body of the bar which is provided with two inwardly-projecting arms, one extending from each part of its bifurcated portion, one of the said rocking-bar arms projecting into the path of the said lateral projections of the rocking plate, coil-springs connecting the outer extremity of the rocking-plate arm, with the inner extremities of the rocking-bar arms, and links or rods connecting the rocking plate with the push-buttons.

In an electric switch, the combination with a base, a frame, push buttons, and brushes, of a rocking plate pivoted on the inner extremity of the frame and provided with parts `extending equally on both sides of its pivot, and an outwardly-projecting arm, a rocking bar fulcrumed on the frame between the rocking plate and the push-buttons, said bar being centrally bifurcated, and its extremities being providediwith contacts insulated from the body of the bar and arranged to engage the brushes, the inwardly-projecting arm of the rocking plate projecting into acentral opening of the bar, the said bar having an arm projecting inwardly from each bifurcated part, coil-springs connecting the inner extremities of the rocking-bar arms with the outer extremity of the rocking-plate arm, and links passing through the central opening of the rocking bar, and connecting t-he rocking plate with the push-buttons.

6. In an electric switch, the combination with a base,a cover,pushbuttons and brushes, of a frame attached to the base and having two separated inwardly projecting parts whose inner extremities are bent toward each other, a bridge-piece connecting said extremities and secured to the cover, a rocking plate pivoted between the inner extremities of the frame parts, and provided with an outwardlyprojecting arm, a rocking bar fulcrumed on the frame between the rocking plate and the push-buttons, its central part being bifurcated and its extremities having contacts insulated from the body ot' the bar and arranged to cooperate with the brushes, the arm of the rocking plate entering the central opening of the said bar which is provided with inwardlyprojecting arms, one arm extending from each part of the bars bifurcated portion, the rocking plate being provided with projections arranged to engage one of the rocking-bar arms, coil-springs connecting the arm of the rocking plate with the arms of the rocking bar, and rods or links connecting the rocking plate with the push-buttons, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I altix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES J. FLINT.

Witnesses:

A. J. OBRIEN, DENA NELSON. 

